Overview
- Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima said Murayama died on Oct. 17 at a hospital in Oita, with party officials and local media citing old age as the cause.
- Prime minister from 1994 to 1996, he led a rare coalition that included the Liberal Democratic Party and steered his Socialist Party to accept the U.S.–Japan security treaty and the constitutionality of the Self-Defense Forces.
- The cabinet-endorsed ‘Murayama Statement’ of Aug. 15, 1995 expressed “deep remorse” and a “heartfelt apology,” language later used by successive leaders when marking World War II anniversaries.
- His tenure was tested by the 1995 Kobe earthquake and the Tokyo subway sarin attack, events that drew criticism of the government’s initial response and reshaped debates on crisis management.
- Murayama’s passing renews focus on Japan’s memory politics as recent governments have varied in tone, with Shinzo Abe softening apologies in 2013 and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba using the word “remorse” again this year.